Tobacco Smoker Life Insurance

Given the fact that life insurance companies calculate their premiums according to the death risk of each individual, it makes sense for them to charge more money to people with unhealthy habits. Smoking is probably on of the most common bad insurance habits. In order to categorize a person as a smoker or a non smoker, an insurance company will ask some standard questions. The questions can slightly differ from one company to another but those small question variations can make a difference between an affordable premium and an astronomical premium. You need to be very careful with the tobacco smoker life insurance. If you are interested in buying such an insurance you need to consider the following aspects.

What classifies you as a smoker?

When it comes to the tobacco smoker life insurance, the insurance companies are usually interested in the use of nicotine. This usually concerns people who smoke cigarets or cigars but also people who chew tobacco. Various studies have shown that chewing tobacco is less dangerous for the health but few insurance companies are interested in these matters. Some companies believe that even the use of nicotine patches is reason enough in order to be categorized as a smoker. Furthermore, they don’t really make a difference between occasional smokers and daily smokers. In order to get cheaper premiums, you need to find a company which asks specific questions. For example, avoid companies which only ask you whether or not you have smoked in the last 12 months. Those companies will label you as a smoker even if you just smoked 2 cigars a couple of months ago. Instead, look for companies which ask detailed questions about your smoking habit, the brand of tobacco that you use and so on. These companies are usually more understanding and they have different smoker categories. Choosing such a company can considerably lower your premiums.

Should you lie about your smoking habits?

Most insurance companies ask you to do a blood test in order to see whether you have nicotine present in your system. Lying about your smoking habit is a bad idea. If they discover the lie in the incipient stage of the buying process, they can refuse to sell you insurance. However, if the lie is detected later, they can refuse to pay the benefits altogether, even if you already payed for several years. They usually do a thorough research on the medical history of a policy holder and if they find mentions of smoking, they will cancel your insurance. Given these facts, it is better to disclose this information as openly as possible in order to avoid future misunderstandings. It is better to pay higher premiums for a tobacco smoker life insurance and to know that you have a guaranteed benefit than to lie about your habit and risk paying the premiums for nothing.